Faith As A Bargain
The bargain goes something like this; if I am good, if I obey all the rules, I do everything required of me, then life will be good and I’ll be treated fairly. For some that is the definition of faith, a faith based upon a wish for security. A faith founded on an attempt to manipulate reality, an attempt to strike a bargain which ultimately does not come true because the bargain was made by only one person – ourselves.
“It is difficult to keep this sutra after my extinction. Since I attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, I have expounded many sutras in innumerable worlds. This sutra is the most excellent. To keep this sutra is to keep me.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XI)
We know from the outset that it will be hard to keep this sutra. Yet how do we approach this faith, this practice without entering into some kind of bargain? We know that we are guaranteed to attain enlightenment if we keep faith in, practice, study and teach this Lotus Sutra. Isn’t that some kind of bargain?
“We will wear the armor of endurance because we respect and believe you. We will endure all these difficulties in order to expound this sutra.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XII)
When we think about the benefit of enlightenment it has been my experience that many people think this is some magic point in life when trouble cease to occur. Another common misunderstanding is that somehow our enlightenment will be like some person sitting peacefully under a tree meditating endlessly, a life of bliss and ease.
Enlightenment though is not like that. That moment in time, which we so famously admire, was merely an awakening a moment in the life of the Buddha. From that point on the Buddha worked tirelessly and without comfort, to spread the awakening he experienced. I wonder how many people have that as their image?
Going to the first of the Bodhisattva vows, and from the quote above we see that we do all of this so that we will be able to lead others to the same awakening.
If we remain stuck in the kind of faith that is based upon the bargain, a faith that comes with a contract we present as a demand, then we ignore all the teachings of all the Buddhas in all the Sutras. We are in essence trying to impose our control on the life without regard to the truth or fundamental reality.
This kind of bargain is certain to eventually crumble. When that occurs we will be presented with a golden moment, a moment where we can proceed with a faith founded on our experiences and one that leads us to a true belief in Buddhism, and not as I mentioned previously a belief in the concept of Buddhism.
“Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound many sutras, who knows the position of this sutra in the series of sutras, and who expounds it after my extinction according to its true meaning, will be able to eliminate the darkness of the living beings of the world where he walks about, just as the light of the sun and the moon eliminates all darkness, he will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas to dwell finally in the One Vehicle.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XXI)
